bangkokpost.com Angry Australian tourist Kent Wesley Farrar, 47, on Koh Chang went berserk, tried to attack pedestrians with a kitchen knife, and set fire to three vehicles because his rented motorbike consumed too much fuel, police said.

Phuket Update The Patong Safety Zone campaign has won a major national award for setting international standards and improving the safety and security of tourists on Phuket. The Patong idea would become a model for Thailand, said Major General Chalermkiat Sriworakan in making the award.


PHUKET: The daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media. Beware of inconsistent imitations.

bangkokpost.com Anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban made his pitch to the country's military leaders yesterday, who listened politely but declined to be drawn into a political fight.

nationmultimedia.com Suthep said he understood that prolonged struggle for political reform would affect the economy, and that people were waiting for the military to make a decision. But the people had decided to choose by cutting a vicious circle from Thai politics.

bangkokpost.com Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, who has been given senate approval to be the administration official for the Electoral Commission of Thailand for the February 2 election, said the body, which has more than 10 years of experience, needs to improve its performance.

reuters Scholar Chris Baker argues that vote-buying, although it still occurs, no longer determines election results, and that most people are better informed than privileged Thais think. ''Members of Bangkok's elite and middle classes are more likely to have spent time in Hong Kong, Boston or Paris than in a Thai village,'' he said. ''Their image of the poor, uneducated villager is two decades out of date.''

scmp.com North Korean businessmen in China are being summoned back by Pyongyang in what appears to be part of a continuing crackdown on loyalists of Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of current leader Kim Jong-un executed last week.

scmp.com A US guided-missile cruiser operating in international waters in the South China Sea was forced to take evasive action on December 5 to avoid a collision with a Chinese warship, the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

xinhua China has deployed its lunar rover vehicle on the surface of the moon, state media said early Sunday, after carrying out the first soft landing on Earth's satellite since 1976 in a major step for the country's space program

AP Iran said it has successfully sent a monkey into space for a second time, part of an ambitious program aimed at manned space flight.

thejakartapost.com The Bali Health Agency has confirmed that there has been no measles outbreak on the island in the last three years, saying Australian tourists could have got the virus from anywhere, including their home country. The Head of the Health Agency, Dr Ketut Suarjaya, was responding to recent news of a travel advisory issued by the Australian and American governments advising their citizens about holidaying on the island.

thestar.com.my According to the US-based travel portal's report, over 90 percent of working adults in Malaysia, France, Mexico, Thailand and India ''constantly, regularly, or sometimes'' check e-mails and voicemails while on holiday.



agencies Manchester City vaulted into second place with a wild 6-3 win over league leaders Arsenal in a Barclays Premier League match at Etihad Stadium.

afp Barcelona moved five points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win over Villarreal, thanks to a double from Neymar.

sportsmole.co.uk Sergio Garcia will head into the final round of the Thailand Golf Championship in Chonburi with a four-shot lead. The 33-year-old hit successive birdies in the third round to move onto an 18-under total of 198.

telegrapg.co.uk Close of play: England 180-4 (trail by 205) That was probably the best day of the series so far, an unyielding contest that was shaded by Australia. Michael Clarke's captaincy was not particularly funky but it was wonderfully authoritative. England have a couple of fingernails left on the urn.



December 15-December 20 Patong Carnival, air show over Patong Bay at 4pm, parade at 5pm; diving competition for trash, street parade

December 26 Commemoration of 2004 Asian Tsunami



January 9-12 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina

March BMW Golf Cup International World Finals 2013 at Blue Canyon Country Club

September 24-October 2 Vegetarian Festival, Phuket

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket